Welcome to our Newsletter

The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer . . . . . the winter is coming on!

CHANGE! We all talk about the weather: it is one of life's greatest examples of change . . . and we can do nothing about it! Good change is growth and life; bad change is destructive and decay. This formula is true of the weather, of history and of people.

This year has also brought about change to us here at Mount Alford Lodge. This is our fifteenth year of operation. The floor coverings in the Lodge were exhibiting the passing of time! This necessity gave opportunity to implement dreams and discussions of the past 15 years.

As well as a new carpet through the whole building, we have created a visually spacious entry and more efficient main office. The Seminar Room has been refurbished: last year with wall adjustments it was enlarged, and new lighting and wide-screen TV installed. Now we have added a very inviting entrance, a new storage area, and the 12-year-old homemade tables/desks are being replaced.

The most eye-catching of all is what we may well call the "Michael Wells Resources" room. The old, little-used Reception area is now a place with all of Mike's books, CD's and DVD's for our guests to browse and purchase. Combined with this are comfortable facilities to read the books, hear the CD's and watch a DVD. It was Mike's inspiration that made Mount Alford Lodge a reality; it is now our privilege, each with our individual uniqueness, to share in the ministry of abiding in Christ both here and beyond.

CHANGE! It can be good or bad, it can be growth or decay. It is part of life and the consequences of choice.

We live in days of rapid change. Jesus, concluding His ministry with His disciples, said to them, "In Me you may have peace; in the world you will have tribulation. Don't be afraid, I have overcome the world." John 16:33. The "good" and the "growth" can only happen in Him!

We trust our Newsletter will bring inspiration, encouragement and hope in your journey.

The Mount Alford Team

See the Conquering Hero Comes!

So wrote Handel, who in music, created a majestic sense of a parade of the greats. "Cleopatra" the box office movie of the 60's, showed Brutus bringing trophies of war and conquest into ancient Rome before tens of thousands of citizens, being applauded and exalted by the reigning Caesar.

Most of us in our early years fervently hoped that one day we would lead such a parade.

As years passed, the image shrinks as we view what we really have done. Very little conquest was achieved and what did, we treasure within ourselves, knowing that others would only view it with scorn and contempt. But our flesh will not be satisfied, and we valiantly attempt to gain control over things and people.

The harder we try, the further we degenerate. Pursuing this journey begins a slide into depression.

Whilst we applaud the achievements of others, in 100 years, recognition dwindles to words in a book and a name on a tombstone.

There are other dimensions of the Conquering Hero.

One is the person who lives in total bankruptcy of the body yet has Jesus in his heart - the person whose body is on the verge of physical collapse. For some, it seems that life has thrown almost every form of sickness and disease imaginable at them, and yet in their spirit is unconquerable joy. Another whose body is horribly marred through a car accident, has a sign on his mobile scooter, "I know I look funny on the outside, but please ask me what Jesus has done on the inside!" A paraplegic said in hospital, "I wish I could show you how I feel on the inside .... I am filled with joy!"

Another is a person who walks away from the achievements of his own striving, and yields all such honour to God. It is a recognition in himself that he has nothing, and without God, he always will be nothing1. God does not make His resources available to us until we recognize that, without Him I can do nothing! In our nothingness, we are more than conquerers2.

And then there are the other believers we know so little of: the alcoholic desperately wanting to be clean, the druggie who craves freedom, the homosexual who is contemplating suicide . . . all those who in desperation cry out to God on Sunday, and yet by Tuesday are being sucked back into a vortex of destruction from which they can't escape.

In the final analysis, it is not those who think they have earned the right to be there. It is the person whose heart is indwelt with Jesus3. It will be men and women of great distinction and faith, it will also be the downtrodden, the sick and lame, the unrecognised, the hurting, the confused and the unknown.

But it will be a parade of the faithful. And eternity will sing . . . .

"See the conquering heroes come!"

Ref: 1 John 15:5, 2 Romans 8:37, 3 Eph 3:16-19

Geoff Hopson

An Early Morning Reflection

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth

Oh Lord, I praise your name

Oh Lord, I magnify your name

Prince of Peace, Mighty God

Oh Lord God Almighty.

As the sun comes up in the morning and shines its face on the earth everything seems to come alive in its light.

The birds start singing, the animals come out for warmth and food and drink from the morning dew.

Fog rises like incense burning on the altar of prayer representing the prayers of your people rising up to you.

Creation is at such peace and rests in your goodness and faithfulness. In the mist that you lovingly spread across the earth, so much that is hidden comes to light. The detailed web of a spider is covered with tiny drops of dew that would otherwise be unseen.

Oh Lord let me be more like creation.

May I seek You in the morning and come alive in Your light.

May I sing with thanksgiving in the knowledge that You will provide for me my basic needs and bask in the warmth of Your love.

May I be a sweet fragrance rising to You in everything I do and say.

May I have peace as I rest in Your goodness and faithfulness all the days of my life, as You lovingly share mysteries in each passing day.

Oh Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.

Written by Reba Lawrie early one morning at

Mount Alford Lodge

Special Invitation

"Lifelines" is a hard copy magazine produced periodically by Abiding Life Ministries International. It features many interesting, thought provoking and inspiring articles written by ALMI supporters.

If you would like to receive a copy, please contact us using the link below and provide us with your name, postal address and telephone number.

If you already receive "Lifelines" and have not responded to our letter asking you to confirm that you would like to continue receiving it, please also contact us with your confirmation using the link below.

We look forward to sharing this magazine with you.

The Abiding Life Discoveries Australia Team

at Mount Alford Lodge

Breaking Free? From What?

Many ask, "What is Breaking Free?"

Breaking Free is a journey in being free from what we are as human beings, to who we can become in Jesus Christ.

Most people recognize that life must be more than what is experienced.

The problem is that man is born incomplete. This is consequential to man's choice to live in independence from God.

Breaking Free examines the cause and effect. The problem is universal, permanent, and the effect cannot be changed by any human being.

The only solution is found in Jesus Christ, for He alone can transform human nature.

Doubt and Faith

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.

Deuteronomy 30:19

Choice is an interesting thing, for nearly all of creation is under compulsion. The caterpillar must become the butterfly; the acorn must become the oak tree. Only man can choose what he will be. Choice must have options; it is nonexistent unless there is more than one alternative. "Would you like a cup of coffee, a cup of coffee, or a cup of coffee?" "Well thanks, I will have a cup of coffee!" One cannot choose heaven if there is no hell, a blessing if no curse, a single life if not a married one, or a walk in the spirit if there is no flesh.

This brings me to my point. How can we choose faith if there is no doubt? Many are distraught when they see doubt creeping into their lives. However doubt must appear if there is to be an opportunity for a faith choice. Doubt is the signal that faith is the other option. We need not be undone over doubt; we can push it aside without hesitation and move past it on the way to a faith choice.

From "My Weakness for His Strength" by Michael Wells

Breaking Free 2015!

We are excited to announce three brand new stand alone Breaking Free weekends for 2015. While all will retain some of the core elements so that first-time attendees can quickly grasp a basic yet essential understanding, they will each expand on a particular theme. Come to one or come to all! But be sure to invite your friends so that when you return home, you have someone with whom you can continue to discuss the concepts presented over the weekend.

Breaking Free: My Journey With God

19 to 21 June 2015

$175.00 per person twin share

Every person born on the planet is born in a spiritual cell of incompleteness. It is the result of being born in the nature of Adam. When I am "born again" I am a new creation. During this weekend we will dismantle the walls of this prison cell to experience the freedom that is our heritage through abiding in Christ.

Breaking Free: Transforming My Humanity

28-30 August 2015

$175.00 per person twin share

Adam was a created being in the image and likeness of God. His choice of disobedience to, and independence from God brought about a distortion of this image of God, and this created being became a human being. My humanity is this inherited distortion in my body clashing with the Spirit of God in my spirit. We will look at both our humanity and our new creation in Christ and why Jesus said, "Abide in Me; without Me you can do nothing".

Breaking Free: My Relationship with God

30 Oct to 01 Nov 2015

$175.00 per person twin share

We are designed with a need for God and a need to worship. How well do we know the God in Whom we trust? How do we get to know Him? Who is He anyway? We pray and nothing happens! How can we approach God? Can I increase faith? This weekend will be an honest, open, nonthreatening time together to find answers to such questions. God offers us an incredible deal: We give Him our mess . . . . and He gives us His life!

Price includes: All meals from dinner on Friday to lunch on Sunday, all sessions with notes, plus accommodation in twin rooms with private facilities (all bed linen, blankets and towels etc provided)

Check-in: From 2.00pm Friday and in time for dinner at 6.45pm.

Special Offer

We recognize that the new Breaking Free weekends will be an enormous blessing to those who wish to grow in their personal understanding of a life Abiding in Him. We also recognize that most benefit will be gained through attending all three weekends. So as an encouragement to those who wish to attend more than one weekend we are offering the following financial concessions.

Breaking Free Basics

This presentation has been designed to be mobile - we come to you! Since its inception, it has been presented at local Churches and Home Groups in south-east Queensland. The most recent was last weekend at Caboolture Church of Christ. But it is also ideally suited to Church Camps. It is flexible in length, non threatening, interactive and is solidly based on Scripture.

Many come into the Christian life and are left floundering - much like when computers first came into being. We were told all they could do, but no one told us how to get the things started. For example, we hear talk of "body, soul and spirit" but what are they? What is man? Why are we on the planet? Many times we can find the Christian experience lifeless and boring! Why is this?

Evangelicals talk of the "heart"- but what is it? What is sin? Is there a difference between belief and faith? We are told to pray . . . why? Prayer can be boring and monotonous, so how can we "pray without ceasing"? Why is it so much easier to do the wrong thing than to do the right? How can I know forgiveness? Why do I fail? How do I cope? We seem to be seeking but not finding, waiting but not receiving, working (sometimes slaving) for little reward, and witnessing to people who have no ears! Many of us are schooled in performance, but bankrupt in reality.

Breaking Free Basics looks at all of the above - and a lot more. We look at the Biblical concept of man: why are we on the earth and how God can mould our journey of life. He permits what He could prevent that we may be more than conquerors in our day-by-day hassles. He really wants to be our life . . . but what does that mean?

Breaking Free Basics are just that; basics of living in discovering principles and attitudes that, when maintained, do not necessarily free us from the ups-and-downs of living, but will enable us to see the fulfillment of God's promises in the fullness of time.

Please contact us for more detail.

Transforming Marriage

Transforming Marriage is a series of reproduced footage from the ALMI Basic Seminar DVD's by Michael Wells.

The destruction of marriage is a critical issue in every level of society. In the ensuing pain and confusion, many attempt to resolve the situation by examining and repairing the issues. This is most difficult.

This series goes to the core of the problem. Dr Michael Wells counselled thousands of couples all over the globe. The eight precise insights covered on this DVD, explain the "why" of marriage failure and the "how" of transformation to what marriage is intended to be.

Transforming Marriage is an excellent tool for those intending marriage and to all those who are married. It is also a valuable asset to those who stand on the sidelines in helplessness not knowing what to do.

Best of all it offers a way that can work.

Contents:

Disc 1.1 - Understanding Abiding

1.2 - The Inner and Outer Life

1.3 - Emotional Divorce

1.4 - The Cross and Marriage

Disc 2.1 - Behaviour and Desire

2.2 - Defeat

2.3 - The New Marriage

2.4 - Affairs

Most sessions are less than twenty minutes with the longest twenty-four minutes.

This DVD was produced at Mount Alford Lodge and is available on our website for purchase - $20.00 for the set.